Arriving in Telluride

We arrived into Telluride (that's us in front of the festival stage) via the normal car route even though the much more scenic Last Dollar dirt road was an option, which I have done before and knew it was doable and worth it, but I have to tell you, after 100 miles on the dirt Divide Road, I was ready for some pavement. The car route into Telluride isn't "free" either though as after Placerville, there is a significant bump between you and the Corn Dogs that await.

We celebrated being off the dirt road by stopping in Placerville at the General Store for the much anticipated cup of coffee and a Bear Claw. It's funny, but after cycling for an extended period of time, you really begin to notice the little, finer things in life. Like the bench in front of the General Store in Placerville (above). It's made out of sturdy logs and the back of it, instead of being at a 90-degree angle, it's more at a 75-degree angle, and those 15 degrees make all difference in the world! Aaaahhh, we relaxed like professionals.

So after Placerville, there is that slap-in-the-face 16 miles or so of uphill with little to no shoulder with lots of semi-truck traffic. Scenic, but not a fun ride in my book. I have a rating system for hills, it's based on the speed with which you can travel up them.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Zero - the steepest possible and not rideable

1 - too steep to cycle, maybe if you didn't have panniers, but why?

2 - you could cycle but you're better off pushing, just as fast

3 - steepest hill you can stay upright on bike and go faster than walking/pushing

4 - etc. all the way to 9 which is a very slight incline

------------------------------------------------------------------

So this hill to Telluride is a 3, or the speed we were traveling was 3 mph. Painfully slow. Not fast enough to create wind to cool you down. Mosquitoes can catch up to you and bite you. Flys land on your map and hitch a ride. People point, some laugh, some give the thumbs up outside their window. You sweat, grunt, swerve, curse motorcycles and their ability to simply twist their wrist go faster.

Speaking of semi-trucks, by far the most courteous drivers of all on the highway and roads of America are the big trucks or rather the professional drivers, people who drive for a living. I know for a lot of people new to bicycle touring, this might be their worse fear but the big trucks are simpy not a worry. The big trucks almost always give us lots of space and if the situation arises that they can't cross the center line, they'll slow down and wait. Nope, it is hands down the recently-retired motorhome driver that is the bicycle tourist's worst enemy.

So after slogging up this last hill you are greeted with the view that Telluride is famous for (above). Telluride really does have a lock on beautiful settings for a town, oh yea, it's got its downsides as well, which I won't elaborate on (try googling: Downsides of living amongst the filthy rich and famous of Telluride for starters), but for shear beauty, it's in a league of its own.

Arriving in the town proper is great too as the main drag still retains much of that old Victorian charm (aside from the 1000's of people bustling about because of the festival). We cycle directly the famous "free-box" on Pine Street hoping to make some scores that'll make our festival experience that much more comfortable. I get some blue jeans, a funky knit hat and get this, a down pillow! I am so excited about my down pillow. Kiki got some sweats, a bathing suit, and a sun hat. You gotta love the Telluride Free Box. Every town should have one.

We're starting a neat tradition every morning in Telluride. We bicycle down to the free box and pick out our daily outfit from the free bin. It is such a cool feature that Telluride has and it is always busy with people dropping stuff off or picking stuff up. It's so much fun especially since we've only got a couple garments each for the next month and a half.